Great Debate Over Whether Dogs or Cats Are Smarter, Finally Answered

Lovers of dogs and cats alike are known to argue over which of the animals is better.

Now, one scientific study may have just proven that dogs are smarter than cats, the U.K. Daily Mail reported.

According to a study carried out by researchers at Vanderbilt Universityin Nashville, Tennessee, a dog’s brain contains more cortical neurons than a cat’s.

Advertisement - story continues below

“They have the biological capability of doing much more complex and flexible things with their lives than cats can,” said Suzana Herculano-Houzel, and associate professor of psychology and biological sciences.

The neurons, located in the cerebral cortex, are associated with thinking, planning and complex behavior. Each of these behaviors is considered to be a hallmark of intelligence.

“In this study, we were interested in comparing different species of carnivorans to see how the numbers of neurons in their brains relate to the size of their brains,” said Herculano-Houzel.

Advertisement - story continues below

The study discovered that dogs contain approximately 530 million cortical neurons while cats only have about 250 million. A human brain has roughly 16 billion cortical neurons.

Researchers at Vanderbilt compared the brains of several carnivorous animals and found that size does not necessarily relate to intelligence, or the amount of cortical neurons.

“I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on past experience,” Herculano-Houzel said.

The study revealed that one of the animals with the greatest ratio of cortical neurons to brain size is the raccoon. Their brains tend to be the size of a cat’s, but their density of cortical neurons is greater.

Advertisement - story continues below

“They have a fairly small brain but they have as many neurons as you would expect to find in a primate … and that’s a lot of neurons,” Herculano-Huzel said.

A golden retriever’s brain, although three times smaller than a brown bear, contains more cortical neurons than the bear.

Researchers also disproved the notion that domesticated animals are less intelligent than wild animals. According to the study, there was no significant difference between domesticated creatures and their wild cousins.

The study is not meant to provide absolute proof that dogs are smarter than cats.

Advertisement - story continues below

But it may pave the way for further discussion and discovery into animal intelligence.

“At the least, we now have some biology that people can factor into their discussions about who’s smarter, cats or dogs,” Herculano-Houzel said.